Massive Forza Horizon 6 Leak Hits Steam Days Before Official Launch
In a staggering blunder for Microsoft and Playground Games, the full version of Forza Horizon 6 has leaked online after an unencrypted preload was accidentally made available on Steam. The error allowed the entire 155 GB game to be downloaded, cracked, and distributed on piracy websites more than a week before its official release.
Typically, Steam preloads are encrypted, meaning players can download the data but cannot access or play it until a decryption key is sent out on launch day. In this instance, it appears that both the game files and the decryption update were pushed to the platform prematurely.
The leak, which first surfaced over the weekend, gave hackers access to thousands of assets and the ability to bypass online checks. While the general release is set for May 19th, with early access beginning on May 15th, videos and screenshots of the game running on PC have already begun flooding social media and YouTube.
Industry experts have pointed out the "volatile and unpredictable" nature of release processes, pointing out that this isn't an isolated incident. In March Death Stranding 2 suffered a similar fate when over 100 GB of unencrypted data was accidentally uploaded to Steam ahead of schedule.
This installment of the popular racing franchise is the largest to date, featuring a map based in Japan and including over 550 cars at launch. Despite the leak, the game remains a massive commercial force; it is currently the second top-selling game by revenue on Steam and the third most-wishlisted title on the platform.
Microsoft has been active in trying to contain the fallout. Reddit’s Legal Operations team has already stepped in to remove threads detailing how to find the pirated files, and the company is expected to issue bans to anyone caught streaming the leaked build.
Playground Games and Microsoft have not yet officially commented on whether this breach will force them to move up the official unlock time. For now, the game remains scheduled for a global debut next Tuesday, with a PS5 version rumored to be coming later this year.
